by Lily Roberts
“Now, what can I make for you two?” The chef asked, attention fully on Sydney and me. Shit; I’d been so distracted by the show that I didn’t have time to fully lay out a plan. I looked to Sydney, hoping she’d take the cue to order something first.
“I’ll just have fried rice. No toppings.” Sydney replied smoothly.
The chef nodded, scraping the top of the grill clean before adding a squirt of oil to get the flames stoked once again. Okay, that must’ve been the most cost-effective thing on the menu; I’d give the mental math star to Sydney for this. “Uh, make that a double, please?” I added quickly.
Again, the chef nodded while Sydney shot me the dirtiest look. “I told you to order whatever you wanted,” she hissed under her breath.
“I did,” I insisted. “I—what you ordered sounded good.”
“You just ordered it because it was cheap!” Sydney said.
“Isn’t that why you ordered it?” I asked.
Literal steam was coming out of her ears, now. “Scott, seriously! Could you not be a stubborn jackass and just get what you want?”
“I don’t want you to waste your money on me, Squid,” I argued back. “Just the fact that you would is apology enough. I don’t wanna feel like I owe you.”
“You’re not gonna owe me, Scott.” Sydney explained with a huff. “I just—I don’t want you upset with me, anymore. It’s weird, okay?”
That was weird in itself. Hearing Sydney admit she didn’t like us fighting was the craziest thing I’d ever heard. We stared at each other for a moment, tension stiff and ever-growing, before suddenly snapping as two bowls were slid before us.
“Let me know if you’d like anything else!” The chef said chipperly before stepping away from the grill.
I took a glance at the contents of my bowl before turning back to Sydney, ready to defend my point further. Sydney, meanwhile, seemed very fixated on the contents within. “Uh, Syd?”
She just pointed inside my bowl.
I looked back, not really finding anything out of the ordinary. Just lumps of yellow rice mixed with cooked, scrambled eggs. Then, I noticed it; what looked like red rings were scattered across the top, fried lightly in oil and glistening in the overhead lights. “Hey, Cooper?” I grabbed my chopsticks and plucked the weird piece up towards him. “What the heck is this?”
Cooper glanced up, nearly snorting out his noodles. “Uh…th-that’s calamari.”
Kala-what?
“It’s fried octopus,” Denise snickered. “Apparently, we weren’t the only ones who heard you two’s spat.”
I was totally blanking. When the hell did I mention I wanted octopus in my dish?
“The chef must’ve confused my nickname with the calamari,” Sydney said. “’Cause I’m not entirely sure they serve squid, here.”
Denise and Cooper are in an absolute fit. “S-So, neither of you have ever tried it before?” Denise asked.
Sydney made a slight face. “Is it bad?”
Cooper just gestured to the bowl. “No, just—try it for yourself.”
Oh, God, I knew that face. It was the same face Sydney made years ago, back when our school hosted Pizza Friday and she ended up with a slice of peperoni. It was the face she made when told her birthday cake was half-chocolate and her piece had the tiniest sliver of chocolate in it. Though she’d never say it out loud, Sydney Burton was the pickiest eater I’ve ever seen. It was a godsend that her soccer team would eat nothing but carbs during group dinners. You couldn’t go wrong with a plate of pasta and some garlic bread.
But I also knew she wasn’t about to waste food, especially after making such a stink.
So, for almost thirty seconds, I watched as Cooper and Denise chatted away in the background, while Sydney poked at and played with the calamari. She got a few pieces of rice freed and slurped them up with her chopsticks, but eventually, she’d have to take a bite. And when it did, there was no way Denise and Cooper would look away. The pair seemed delighted to watch Sydney’s first experience with octopus. When a piece finally got on the end of her chopstick, I did the only thing I could think of doing.
I leaned forward and put my mouth over it.
I didn’t know how to react at first.
Did I want to eat this weird, rubbery-looking piece of whatever found in my bowl? Hell no. But did I want Scott Sawyer to eat it off my chopsticks?
Hell to the no! I didn’t need no fake white knight riding in and saving me with his trusty fork.
But, here I was, sitting at this crazy restaurant and watching Scott pull back to his seat, chomping away on what I almost put into my mouth. That-that absolute pig! He had his own, damn bowl, so why’d he go after mine?!
Again, not that I wanted it in the first place, but still.
Ooh, I was ready to let him have it, too. But before I could get a word out, Denise practically spat out her noodles as she started laughing at the two of us. Even Cooper was snickering, his chopsticks placed along his bowl while the two had a good ol’ time. “O-Oh my God, Scott. Your face!”
I turned to look at Scott, admittedly nearly letting a snort slip out myself. His brow was completely scrunched, mouth chewing in an exaggerated manner as slowly and painfully as I think he could muster. “Scott,” I began, but he waved me away, still chewing. “Scott, seriously,” a giggle manages to get out before I can stop it. “D-Don’t keep chewing, it’ll just get worse.”
“No,” Scott began with the worst grimace on his face. “It…it’s not that bad. Like eating an eraser that tastes like fish.”
“Oh my God,” Denise snickered. “It’s that bad, huh?”
“Yeah, this place’s calamari is only okay,” Cooper admitted. “I sometimes order it for the seasoning, though. At least until I can figure out what they use.”
“You cook?” Denise asked, a throaty purr escaping her lips. “That’s hot.”
I cringed a bit. Too heavy, Denise. Too heavy. I glanced back to Scott, full-out laughing as he kept chewing. “Scott, really, it’s okay.” Poor guy looked pretty green in the face. But, to his credit, everyone had forgotten I hadn’t eaten any, yet. That was admittedly sweet, taking the metaphorical bullet for me.
“I bet you guys can get a new order, since you didn’t technically order the calamari bit,” Denise reassured us.
“Yeah, that guy shouldn’t have been nosing in on your little lover’s spat.” Cooper added with a curious amount of sincerity.
Scott swallowed hastily after that, choking and coughing while he spoke. “H-Ha-ha! Yeah, good one, Cooper! Real funny!”
I gave him a weird look as Cooper did the same. “What, too soon to use the ‘l’ word? I guess it is technically your first date, too.”
Now I was squinting at Scott, his green face turning a faint shade of white. Even Denise looked confusingly at Cooper. “Wait, what? No, they’re just here as friends,” she insisted.
And then it was Cooper’s turn to look confused. “But, aren’t you and Scott dating, Sydney? That’s what he told all of us after Saturday’s party.”
I got absolutely red in the face. He said what?!
“Now, to be fair,” Scott started to stammer out. “I didn’t, exactly, fully say we were a…thing.”
“Dude, Dinesh flat-out said you two were dating,” Cooper chuckled. “I dunno how that’s anything else but.”
A tingle ran throughout my fingers, itching to curl into fists and absolutely throttle Scott. “Would you two excuse us for a second?” I asked, grabbing Scott’s arm while pulling him towards the bathroom. Wisely, he didn’t try and fight back.
“Wait, did I say something wrong?” I heard Cooper ask behind us.
“Yeah, they’re not actually…” Denise’s reply trailed off as the two of us crossed the restaurant in its entirety.
---
I was hoping that there’d be multi-stalled bathrooms here, but apparently, this restaurant cheaped out when it came to facilities. Two, single-use bathrooms were available for me to use for the
sake of privacy, meaning I was stuck shoving Scott onto the toilet seat while I paced angrily back and forth. Not exactly how I envisioned this conversation going. “What the actual fuck, Scott?!”
He absolutely looked like a mouse caught in a trap. I’m not surprised he didn’t respond at first—who would be stupid enough to lie about their relationship status—but that just meant I could dig into him more.
“Scott, you know we’re not dating, right?” I asked. “Like, I don’t know whatever drunk me promised you Saturday night, but it sure as hell wasn’t that.” At least I hoped I couldn’t have been THAT drunk.
That snapped Scott into a defensive state of mind. “Oh my God, nothing happened that night, Sydney! I think the worst thing you did was badly sing along to the song some girls were playing in their car when they passed us by.”
The vaguest memory of music filtered across my brain, followed by the Scott’s dazzling smile. He seemed…really happy about something. And, I couldn’t be certain, but it wasn’t at my expense.
“And I only said that so that creep would back off from you,” Scott continued angrily. “No way was I gonna let Dinesh have his shot.”
“So I suddenly can’t handle myself around other guys?” I snapped back. “I need you white-knighting in my place?”
“No, that’s not--!”
“I’m not some hapless idiot, Scott!” I stood in place, towering over him with my arms crossed over my chest. “You of all people should know how capable I am. God knows I’ve dealt with you all my life. It’s made me pretty tough.”
“I know that,” Scott began.
“So why the hell did you think it was a good idea to lie like that?!” My blood was back to boiling at this point. “In case you were unaware, it’s literally none of your business as to who I talk to.”
“I know that,” Scott tried to say again.
“Oh, then please! Enlighten me to whatever wisdom went off in your head to think you had a right to call me your girlfriend!”
Scott suddenly stood up from the toilet, fists curled by his side. “Maybe it’s because I didn’t want to see you with anyone else! Maybe, after all this time, I’ve developed feelings outside of contempt for you, Sydney! Yeah, I know it’s weird, but they say there’s a thin line between love and hate and may have stepped over that line.”
It was like getting slugged in the face with a brick. “Wh-what?”
Then, Scott said the three words I didn’t think I’d ever hear come out of his mouth. “I like you.” He paused, as if really letting the sentence sink in. “I mean, I think I do. I know I feel something, and, I think you do, too.”
I let out a snort. “Yeah, okay.”
“Sydney, you kissed me that night.” He held out his arms. “Please don’t smack me but it’s the truth. I think the alcohol might have brought up real feelings you have for me.”
And there was the second brick. I did what now?
“When we were walking home, you were asking me about the middle school talent show. And…one thing led to another, and you just leaned in and…” Scott suddenly looked…meek. His arms were folded behind his back, shoes scuffing the bathroom tile as his gaze tilted downward. I wasn’t used to seeing this from him. This wasn’t his usual bravado.
He was telling the truth.
Even so, I wasn’t sure I believed it. Me? Deliberately kissing Scott? I mean, no, that wasn’t it. I was drunk! I wasn’t thinking straight. There was no way I’d willingly do something like that.
But you did, right? A little voice in my head replied.
I took a once-over at Scott. Really, really looked him over, with his attempt at nicely-styled hair, the actual collar and buttons on his long sleeve, how he matched his belt color with his shoes. Just, all the little details he took into account for this outing of ours.
For our…date.
“Just, tell me to stop if I’m way off base,” Scott began. “But if you’re feeling…feelings…too, I want to know. I need to know this isn’t just me. That, something’s changed between us. That we’re not the same as we were in school. Well of course we’re not the same, we’re older and more mature. But not just that, we’re not rivals any longer. We could be so much more. I think. I hope. I think.”
“I,” I paused, biting my lip. He was right, and I knew it. We weren’t the same two people we were back then. I talked a big game around others—even to myself—but the fact of the matter was that something was different. I didn’t know what it was, though. I couldn’t pin it; was it really as cliché as I thought? Were two enemies falling for one another?
Crap. I’d left him on silent.
“Scott,” I took a deep breath, fighting to hold onto my nerves. “I...yeah. Something’s changed between us. You’re not crazy.” The hope in his eyes was almost tangible. It was like telling a kid they’d gotten everything on their Christmas list. “But, I don’t know if I’d call it romantic,” I added hastily afterwards. “I—I don’t know what it is. But, you’re right. I…it’s not right to keep seeing you in the same light I have been. You’ve changed.”
“You, too,” Scott added. “I don’t know what it is, but…I want to be your friend, Syd. Like, actually friends. Not just people who snark at each other in passing. I don’t want to be constantly worried that we’ll get into a fight.”
“Ooh, but you make it so easy,” I said.
That got a reassuring chuckle out of Scott. He sat back down onto the toilet seat, one hand under his chin as his elbow propped against his knee. “Okay, so…not dating?”
“Not dating,” I stated firmly. “And you better set all the football folks straight about that. And before you say anything,” I added as he opened his mouth to protest. “I’ll deal with Dinesh in my own way.”
Scott looked like I just kicked a puppy in front of him. “You gotta tell me if he’s your type?”
I smiled mischievously. “Ooh, you think I’m into rude and loud huh? Guys who can’t stop hyping themselves up? Guys who seem to swim in body spray. Guys who think they are the Universe’s gift to women.”
Scott laughed. “Okay, I get it. You’re smarter than you look, Squid.”
“And sometimes, rare times, you don’t say something stupid, Scotty Dog.”
We stood in silence for a minute, just taking in what the other had said. So, it was official. We were friends, or at least, some definition of. What the hell did that mean, though? Were we still going to be prickly? Were there going to be more moments like this? Hopefully not all in a bathroom, but the question still stood,
“Hey, is anyone in there?” A loud voice chorused alongside a knock on the door, followed by someone trying the handle. Scott’s face immediately paled as he looked at me, both having the exact same thought.
Boy, would it ever look weird if two people came out of the same bathroom.
“Uh, hang on, man!” Scott’s head swiveled around, eventually locking onto a window high off the ground. “Here, I’ll stand on the tank and hoist you up.”
“Seriously?!” I hissed as quietly as I could.
“Would you prefer the alternative?” Scott snapped quietly back.
In fact, I most certainly did not. What a great day to wear a dress. “Okay, but, don’t look up, okay?”
“And here I thought we just had a nice moment about friendship and trust,” Scott grumbled under his breath. He carefully positioned himself onto the toilet’s tank and folded his hands together. I put my foot down upon it, my own hands following up the wall as he hoisted me up. Thank God the window was unlocked. “Just—I’ll say I left my wallet in Cooper’s car,” I softly called down.
“You know he locked it, right? Scott asked.
“All the more reason to come back in irritated,” I said somewhat snappishly. “You’re doing a great job getting me in the mindset.”
Scott just grinned. “Hey, it’s what friends do.”
Finally, I managed to jimmy the window open, slipping through with ease. Pushing myself up onto my
feet, I ducked down just enough to wave back through the window for Scott’s sake. Then, carefully shutting the window behind me, I took a minute to lean up against the wall and contemplate what I’d just gotten myself into. “Well…it can’t be any worse than hating him, right?” I asked as I rounded towards the front of the restaurant.
Only time would tell.
The next couple of weeks before autumn break were…interesting, to say the least. In that seemingly nothing changed between me and Scott.
Oh, we still had to have the last word between each other, and now and then we’d give the other a zinger of a comeback. But whenever we interact, we’re just more…relaxed. I feel more relaxed, not constantly on-edge to try and counter whatever awful thing he’s about to say or do. Even Scott seems gigglier than usual, just overall more energetic whenever we hang out. I thought telling the guys about his little fib would’ve dragged him down a bit, but nope. He’s honestly just happy I consider him a friend. Which is a HUGE change from ass.
So, yeah. Interesting.
But soon enough, the end of the semester was upon us, meaning it was time to turn in my Journalism project. Not that I was worried about getting a bad grade or anything, but it was sort of the best excuse I had to go see Scott during practice. The training wheels were officially off; we’d have to socialize outside of a school project.
Denise seemed more than happy for my journal to be over and done with, though. She and Cooper didn’t exactly last much longer, parting on what I considered amicable terms. And, to be fair, I was the one with the project to do, so she was only coming with me at that point to torture herself.
“Denise, you two dated for less than a week,” I tried reassuring her as I stuffed the last bit of clothing into my suitcase. “Is it really necessary to still be this broken up about it?”
Denise waved a snotty tissue my way, still cradling a stereotypical tub of ice cream in her arms. “Y-You wouldn’t understand. You’ve never even dated someone before.”
